Railway-car



R. H. WYMAN.

RAILWAY GAR.

. (No Model.)

No. 337,106 Patented Mar. 2, 1886.

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UNITED STATES PATENT -OFFICE.

RICHARD H. WYMAN, OF EVANSTO N, ILLINOIS.

RAILWAY-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 337,106, dated March 2, 1886 Application filed November .24, 1885.

side of the ends of two of the slats forming the cover. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the slats shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is across-section, on the line mm in Fig. 1,0f the central transverse arch. Fig. 5 is a vertical section, on the line y y in Fig. 1, of the casting B.

Like letters represent similar parts in the several figures.

My invention relates to movable covers for railway-cars.

To be practically successful, any removable cover for railway-cars must combine at least three essential qualities: First, it is necessary that they be cheap, otherwise the railroad companies will consider it more economical to run the cars empty in one direction, as is now the case generally with coal-cars, and to suffer the present loss or shrinkage in the other direction than to provide such cars with covers; second, it is necessary that the covers, whatever be their construction, be capable of being removed to such an extent as to leave the entire top of the car uncovered, so

that the car can, if desired, be loaded under screens, as at present; third, it is also necessary, in a practically useful cover, that in opening or closing said cover it shall not extend beyond the sides of the car, except for a very short distance, because the space in which a car stands when being loaded with coal is too narrow and the sheds and plat forms along the line are too close to the track (for convenience in unloading) to permit the raising or lowering of any cover which pro- 5 jects much beyond the sides of the car in operation.

The object of my invention is to provide a removable cover or top for railway-cars which shall be inexpensive, which may be lowered so as to uncover the entire car, orapart thereof, at one time, and which in being raised or low-v Serial No. 183,904. (No model.)

ered shall not come in contact with the sheds or platforms into or onto which the car is to be unloaded, or with cars standing upon an adjacent track.

To this end my invention consists in the combination of elements set forthin the claims, and clearly described herein.

In the drawings, A represents the car. Upon the upper edge of the ends of said car I secure the castings B, which are provided upon their inner faces with guide grooves or ways b. Preferably at or near the longitudinal center of the car a supporting bridge or arch, O, is secured in any appropriate manner, which arch is provided upon each side thereof with the guide grooves or ways a c.

D represents slats which run lengthwise of of the car, and which may, if so desired, be made as long as the car. I prefer, however, to make them of sufficient length to extend from one end of the car to the supporting-arch 0. Upon the end of each slat,'and near the upper edge thereof, pins,or, preferably, the frictionwheels d, are mounted. These wheels are adapted to move in the ways or guide-grooves 0 and b and guide the slats in their motion,as hereinafter described.

To the inner or underface of each slat, near the ends thereof, is bolted or otherwise secured a link, E, and the successive links are hinged together, as shown, upon the principle of the successive links of a drive-chain. These links are preferably raised above the surface of the slats to which they are secured by means of the legs e 6, thereby adapting them to engage with the sprocket-wheel g, as hereinafter explained, without allowing the slat to come in contact with the teeth of said wheel.

The links E are preferably divided transversely by the partitions e, as shown, whereby fewer slats may be used and the teeth in the sprocket wheel be placed closer together, thereby fitting it to do more effective work;

Upon each side of the car the shafts G are mounted, preferably in the uprights F, there being preferably as many independent shafts as sections to the cover. Sprocket-wheels g are keyed to the shaft in such a position as will engage with the hinged links E. Upon the end of the shaft, or at some other suitable point, the ratchetwheel g is keyed, and a pawl, g, is provided for engaging with said ratchet. To the ends of the shafts G, I secure a crank, 9 by means of which the said shafts are revolved. The upper wa'llsof the grooves or ways b and c, at their lower ends, curve outward, as shown in Fig. 1, thereby forming the guides H, against which the friction-wheels d strike in their upward motions, and are guided into the ways 0 and b.

The preferable form of the slats D is shown in Fig. 3, where each slat overlaps the following slat, thereby to a large extent serving to exclude snow, rain, 8m, and thereby keep the contents dry and clean.

.1 represents a hook, two or more of which are secured to the upper slat and near its upper edge. These hooks, when the cover is lowered to the position shown in Fig. 1 on the left side thereof, engage with the side of the car and prevent the cover from dropping any farther.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the covers are lowered on both sides of the car, as shown on the left side of Fig. 1, the car is entirely uncovered. To raise a section of the cover, the shaft G, which operates said section, is revolved by means of the crank g in the direction of the arrow. The sprocketwheel 9 engages with the links E, and the cover is carried upward. While each slat D is engaging with the sprocket-wheel g the frietionwvheel d upon said slat strikes against the curved guide H, and is thereby guided into the ways b and c, and this occurs to each slat until the cover is in the position shown on the right side of Fig. 1. When all of the sections into which the cover is divided meet, those on one side of the car meet those on the other side thereof above the middle of said car and the car is entirely covered, the pawl engaging with the ratchet to prevent any backward motion; but the entire weight of the cover-sections is not sustained by the ratchets and pawls. A large part of it is sustained by the friction-wheels d, resting upon the lower' wall of the ways a and b, and the meeting sections may be locked together by any suitable means, so that the said sections will act each as a counter-balancing weight to the other.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a railway freightcar, of a flexible cover in two or more inde pendent sections adapted to meet'above the longitudinal central line of the car to cover said car, each section consisting of slats hinged together by means of links secured to said slats hinged together, friction-wheels mounted upon the ends of the slats, guideways secured to said car at the end of said slats, and means, substantially as described, for raising and lowering said sections, for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with a railway freightcar, of a flexible cover in two or more independent sections, each section consisting of slats hinged together, friction-wheels on the end of each slat, the curved guide H, and means, substantially as described, for raising and lowering said sections, for the purpose specified. i

4. A movable cover for railway freight-cars, in two or more independent sections, each section consisting of slats hinged together by means of links secured to said slats and extending outwardly therefrom, and having each slat overlap the slat next below it.

5. The combination, with a railway freightcar, of a flexible cover of two or more independent sections, each section consisting of slats extending lengthwise of the car, hinged links secured to said slats and extending outwardly from the surface of the slats, and sprocket-wheels mounted on the sides of the car and adapted to engage with said hinged links, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination, with a railway freightcar, of a flexible cover in two or more independent sections, each section consisting of slats hinged together and extending lengthwise of the car, friction-wheels on the ends of said slats, gnideways secured to the car, adapted to engage with said wheels, means, substantially as described, for raising and lowering said sections, and hooks secured to the upper slat of each section, for the purpose specified.

RICHARD H. WYMAN. Witnesses:

E. L. THUnsToN, L. HILL. 

